back when it was a quad. I lived there during that time, and went there for so many years before Clifton Commons came. While AMC continues to jack up prices at the megaplex and plans to replace 15 screens with 4k technology, Clearview will still operate the Allwood as a neighborhood small town theater that attracts the poor and elderly residents of the neighborhood who want to see a movie.

nearly 10 years after Clifton Commons opened and a few months before the new theater in Paterson opens, this is the only surviving small theater in Clifton. If it closes, it will hurt downtown businesses in the Allwood district.

Inside the theater, there used to be a fireplace to evoke that neighborhood feel; is that still there? There is only one box office stand compared with other Clearviews I’ve been to, and the entrance between the front and the box office has posters for future movies. The lobby has a decent candy stand, along with a few arcade machines and poster stands. Out of all the screens in this theater, I like the two with digital sound. Theater 1 has DTS, while theater 2 has Dolby Digital. The other screens have Dolby Stereo. This theater, if it doesn’t close, will become the oldest theater in Clifton.

I read on NJ’s movies forum, that on the monday after the Zohan movie came out, there was a power outage in that area that affected the theater. Thankfully it was back on but soon that nasty storm came by and knocked clifton without power for awhile, affecting this theater and clifton commons.

there was a post on the old clifton quad about how this theater does a bad rap about aspect ratios. it wont be long before clearview closes smaller theaters like this one and keep its larger ones open.

When clearview acquired the allwood, they introducted a pre-show before each movie that played at the six-plex, courtesy of Screenvision. I first noticed this before a screening of “Space Jam” at the theater, as well as another Clearview theatre in Wayne, during a screening of “Star Trek First Contact”. Nowadays, Clearview’s more popular theaters use a digital pre-show as opposed to the analog, which was renamed “The Clearview”. Does the Allwood still use analog pre-show or digital? Seems that this theater will no longer survive and needs a renovation just like theatres with fewer than 10 screens owned by the chain, those that were build after the golden age of hollywood and before that.

A good example of this is the warner quad in ridgewood and hawthorn theater. Warner Bros, Disney, and Universal films always played in hawthorne, while fox, paramount/dreamworks, sony, and mgm chose the warner quad. Most recently, Disney’s Ratatouille played in the Warner Quad rather than in Hawthorne. As for ticket prices, the Allwood is still cheaper than AMC, even though it’s showing signs of wearing down in the near future when digital film will take over the box office. Also, traffic around the theater still remains a bit tricky because there’s the Allwood circle.

I don’t know. I saw an old newspaper ad in the New York Times during the late 1970’s and they listed Allwood as well as a handful of other theaters as either Flagship, Red Carpet, or Blue Ribbon. As for the Allwood, any news on when it might close in the near future? It would be sad to see it go the way of the dinosaur!!!

When I went to the Allwood in the last couple years of its single-screen days (the mid-‘70s; I believe it was twinned for Christmas '78), it seemed to play primarily United Artists/MGM releases (“Rocky,” “The Spy Who Loved Me,” the Brando/Nicholson flop “The Missouri Breaks”). It was usually listed in the co-op ads along with other so-called “Red Carpet Theatres” for UA/MGM releases, whereas Universal’s wide releases in the New York City area were at “Blue Ribbon Theatres” and Warner Bros. wide releases played at “Flagship Theatres.” Anybody have any background on where these collective terms came from (or why they’re no longer used)? The studios themselves? Film bookers? Were they used anywhere else in the country at that time?

The last time I went to this small theatre was “The Hunted”,a so-so movie that had a little crowd, two years ago. This theatre has survived many multiplexes and home theatres to become a favorite mostly for seniors who want to go see movies in the theatre rather on the small screen. The first time I went to this theatre (I believe it was “The Land Before Time”, which was a good kids movie). Some of the movies that were packed were “Twister”, “Space Jam”, and “The Santa Clause”. Theatre 1 and 2 are the largest auditoriums with DTS (1) and Dolby Digital EX (2) surround sound and decent projection.

Here is a very topical ad for the Allwood, from 1969. Ads like this, featuring copy specific to the movie being shown, were a really distinctive hallmark of the neighborhood theater. Even though the Allwood is now a sixplex, I’m glad it has survived all these years.

I remember going to the Allwood Sixplex a lot when I was young. When it was bought out by Clearview, it had a hometown feel to it rather than the chintzy Clifton Commons and the tall Wayne megaplex that first drew moviegoers away from the small Passaic county sixplex. I can’t believe that ticket prices in that theatre are cheaper than the other big theatres that clearview owns, such as those in Succasunna, Mansfield, and even the Ziegfeld theatre, the most famous Clearview cinema of them all. The theatre was easy to walk to from my old parent’s house in Clifton (Clifton Blvd.) rather than go all the way to Clifton Commons or the old Quad (which thankfully was closed). As for that Hoffman guy, he did a good job renovating all those popular cinemas in North Jersey with state-of-the-art sound, good picture, good carpeting, and seats. Now only if he could make stadium seating available to all Clearview Cinemas that don’t have it (i.e., older theatres like the Washington Township). Yet, CLearview CInemas is the most popular franchise in the New York Metro Area and in New Jersey.

The renovations mentioned above are different than those of the Mansfield 14/15 and the Washingtown Township which have a simular design and color scheme as the Clearview Cinemas website. The Allwood goes for classy gold trim. Granted this sure isn’t what it used to be, the hallways connecting the loby and the cinemas are much more pleasent to walk through than, say, at their Emerson Quad (which is essentally just painted gray).

Thank goodness places like these hang in there. Thats what suprises me about Brooklyn that people would rather go to the filthy cinder block Sheepshead Bay then some of the charming houses that were forced to close.

The Record (Bergen County, NJ), Jan 4, 2004 pL01
Popcorn plot line: David vs. Goliath; Small movie house survives in Clifton. LOCAL Amanda Gerut; Special To The Record.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2004 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

Byline: AMANDA GERUT, SPECIAL TO THE RECORD

CLIFTON – In the age of megaplex movie theaters with valet parking and gourmet dinners, the Allwood Cinema has refreshed its image as a family showplace, surviving as other small theaters shut their doors.

The 53-year-old Allwood has stuck to its roots, with six screens, cheap tickets and popcorn, candy and ice cream concessions. As ticket prices rise above $10 elsewhere, the Allwood recently lowered its tickets to $6.

And even though business dipped when the multiplex AMC Clifton Commons opened, ticket sales have recently surged, workers say.

“We have a very loyal clientele,” said general manager Ralph Valles.

In 1929 there were about 20,000 movie theaters in the United States compared with 6,134 today, according to the National Association of Theater Owners in North Hollywood, Calif.

But in North Jersey, some small theaters like the Allwood and the Hawthorne Theaters on Lafayette Avenue endure by appealing to families as a smaller, more economical alternative to the bigger movie powerhouses.

“It’s too crowded,” Ruggiero said on a recent Friday night at the Allwood with a group of friends to see the Steve Martin flick, “Cheaper by the Dozen.”

Linda Fadil, who began working at the theater as a teen and still works there part time, said the view of Market Street from the lobby hasn’t changed much since the late 1970s.

“Some things have changed but it’s pretty much the same,” Fadil said, looking through the glass doors next to the box office.

The Allwood Theater opened in the summer of 1950 with a premiere run of the western “Broken Arrow,” starring James Stewart. Actor Tom Ewell performed on its stage five years before his turn in Billy Wilder’s “The Seven Year Itch” with Marilyn Monroe.

An advertisement from 1950 that hangs in the lobby illustrates how New Jersey’s many industries contributed to the construction.

Lighting came from Rialto Electric Co. in Passaic, the glass front from Paterson Glass Co., and the sheet metal work was done by Jersey Sheet Metal on Sebago Street in Clifton.

The theater had a string of owners throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In the late 1970s, it was split to hold two screens. In the mid-1980s, the theater was split again to hold four screens, and in the late 1990s, the original staging area was divided into two more screens.

In 1997, Clearview Cinemas bought the theater. Clearview, which is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp., owns 54 theaters in the New York metro area.

Ticket prices at the Allwood dropped the last week of October to appeal to families, said Valles.

Adult tickets are $6 and children and seniors pay $4. Tickets used to be $8.50 and $5.25. At the end of January, the theater will host a Kids First film and video festival for children as young as 2 years old.

Jesse Sayegh, president of the New Jersey chapter of the National Association of Theater Owners, said it’s common for small theaters to cut prices by $2 or $3 a ticket to capture a share of the movie market. Sayegh said families with children are often trying to save a little money and might be more attracted to a smaller theater.

“Where they can get free popcorn and lower admission for a first-run movie, it will attract,” he said.

He added that larger theaters sometimes get reputations for attracting “rowdies” and families are attracted to a theater that is quieter and seems safer.

However, smaller theaters in the area have been closing.

The Clifton Quad Theater, which opened in December 1937, closed in April 2000 and became a Walgreens. The Screening Zone in Montclair closed in August and remains empty.

“Once the Clifton Commons opened up on Route 3, that was sort of the kiss of death to all those small theaters in the area,” Sayegh said.

But the Allwood remains a favorite to people who have been coming for years, and some newcomers as well.

Sharon Pelosi, who lives across the street, said she remembered when lines to buy tickets stretched down the street. When Clifton Commons opened, attendance dropped, but now lines to get in the theater have been growing, she said.

“This is a great little neighborhood theater,” Pelosi said.

Sisters Michele Davide and Lori Kriz joined their third sister, Jennifer Davide, at the theater on a recent Friday as newcomers.

“I love main street theaters,” Kriz said.

Michele Davide nodded.

“It’s cute,‘’ she said. "There’s parking right here and there’s no line. So far, so good.”